Backers of the campaign to recall Santa Ana City Councilwoman Ceci Iglesias have put signs up in a Caltrans work area on N. Main St. and Edgewood, at the 5 Freeway. This is a blatant violation of the Santa Ana political sign ordinance which prohibits putting signs up in public areas. This work zone is also off limits to the public so the recall campaign supporters engaged in trespassing when they put up these signs.

I reported this on the MySantaAna phone app this morning. I expect the signs will be taken down soon.

This is the type of behavior I have come to expect from the recall supporters, who are mostly NIMBYs from the Park Santiago neighborhood and disgruntled members of the Santa Ana Police Officers Association.

The NIMBYs are upset because Iglesias voted to support the development of a luxury apartment building at 2525 N. Main St.

The police officers are upset because Iglesias refused to support their huge pay raise, which passed without her support.

Iglesias was actually instrumental in convincing the developer to greatly reduce the density of this project.

In related news we posted a video, above, of paid signature gatherers who were collecting signatures at Santa Ana College on a related ballot referendum, to overturn the City of Santa Ana’s approval of the 2525 N. Main St. development. The signature gatherers can be heard in the video telling voters that this project will displace the Discovery Cube – a blatant lie as this project will actually result in the Discovery Cube gaining access to badly needed additional parking spaces at 2525 N. Main St.

We also caught the signature gatherers blatantly blocking a public sidewalk in the Park Santiago neighborhood, by the 2525 N. Main St. property. That violation was also reported on the MySantaAna phone app.

The entitled NIMBYs who are supporting these ballot referendums are clearly willing to break the law to get their way. Santa Ana’s voters should remember this when the recall election comes up on May 19.

These same NIMBY’s by the way are currently lying again, on the Nextdoor website, about a recent killing that took place at Santiago Park. The killing happened at the entrance to that park, as a group of suspects attacked and killed a homeless man. The NIMBY’s right away blamed the 2525 N. Main St. development for this murder.

In reality if the 2525 N. Main St. project was actually progressing it would currently be in the framing state and there would be security around the clock. There would be less crime in the Park Santiago neighborhood.

The NIMBY’s recalcitrance and obstinance has actually made the Park Santiago neighborhood less safe!

The NIMBYs in north Santa Ana successfully collected 16,000 signatures – when they only needed 11,000 to qualify their ballot referendum against the proposed luxury apartment project at 2525 N. Main St. for the ballot, according to an insider at City Hall.

The Santa Ana City Council will now determine when to hold this Special Election. It won’t be on the May ballot, when Santa Ana voters will consider the proposed recall of Santa Ana City Councilwoman Ceci Iglesias.

The City Council could opt to set a date for yet another Special Election, which will cost a small fortune but unfortunately the project developer will be forced to foot the bill.

The City Council could also do the right thing and put this on the November General Election ballot, which would cost less and would open the issue up to more voters.

The NIMBYs would benefit from having a single issue Special Election as turnout would be super low and they could prevail even though they make up less than 20% of the overall voters in Santa Ana.

Placing the referendum on the November ballot would actually make it easier to defeat but it could pose a challenge for Iglesias at that time as she will be on the ballot as a Mayoral challenger – and the NIMBYs are not happy with her as she voted to approve the apartment project.

The NIMBYs are of course totally ridiculous. Were the developer to put a new office project at 2525 N. Main St. that would generate a ton more traffic than a luxury apartment project!

The NIMBY’s are also working on another ballot referendum to recall the Ward 3 City Councilman, Jose Solorio, who like Iglesias is also a candidate for Mayor. That referendum however still is short on signatures.

It is highly unlikely that voters who don’t live in north Santa Ana will support the anti luxury apartment referendum. That project would generate millions of dollars in tax revenue and development fees for the City of Santa Ana. And it is unfair to foist tons of development on our neighbors in central and south Santa Ana while the north avoids any housing development.

It is also awkward for the mostly Republican NIMBYs to ask the mostly not Republican voters in other parts of the city to do them a solid…

Two campaign mailers arrived in Santa Ana mailboxes today – in a direct hit on the SAUSD’s Measure I – the district’s third property tax increase in 19 years.

One of the mailers addressed the unfairness of Measure I, which will have a huge negative impact on Santa Ana senior citizens and others on fixed incomes, such as the disabled and those who are combating serious illnesses. Continue reading→

I attended two Santa Ana City Council candidate forums recently and was astonished to hear every single candidate for the Santa Ana City Council come out publicly against Measure X. Sal Tinajero, who is termed out and is running for Mayor of Santa Ana, is the only candidate still publicly backing Measure X (although he doesn’t mention it on his campaign website).

It is generally a very bad idea for a political candidate to run on a platform based in raising our taxes. Perhaps this is why Tinajero’s City Council candidates – Roman Reyna in Ward 4; Sandra Pocha Pena Sarmiento in Ward 2; and Nelida Mendoza in Ward 6 have all publicly turned their backs on Tinajero’s Measure X.

Measure X, if it passes, will result in Santa Ana having the highest sales tax in Orange County. That will result in several awful consequences: Continue reading→

The City of Santa Ana encourages the public to participate in the decision-making process. The following information is being provided so that you can ask questions, make comments and stay informed about the proposed Ward re-boundaries that may be important to you. We encourage you to contact us prior to the meetings, if you have any questions.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN: The Santa Ana City Council will hold a series of Community Meetings and Public Hearings to consider modifying the Ward boundaries to comply with both the Federal and California law, including the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). Continue reading→

When I spoke with Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido earlier this week he was not yet sure if he was going to run for what will be his last two-year term. Since them Pulido has indeed pulled papers and he will be on the November 6 ballot. He will face off against termed-out Santa Ana City Councilman Sal Tinajero, who has been garnering a lot of media attention of late due to his leadership of the SAUSD Debate Team. The path for Tinajero was cleared when his colleague, Mayor Pro Tem Michele Martinez, opted to not run for Mayor after all. She too is terming out from the Santa Ana City Council.

No question about it – the Tinajero versus Pulido race will be the big contest in the General Election. But the race for Santa Ana’s Ward 2 will also be sure to garner a lot of attention as no less than six candidates have pulled papers. Here are the Ward 2 candidates: Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council has canceled the Public Hearings to consider modifying the Ward boundaries. The Hearings were originally scheduled for May 1, May 3, May 15, May 19 and June 5, 2018.

The purpose of these Hearings was to allow interested persons to provide input on ward boundaries, community of interest and comment on proposed draft maps before the City Council for consideration. The City Council was unable to hold a formal public hearing on May 3, 2018 due to lack of quorum and at the May 15, 2018 City Council Meeting, the Clerk of the Council announced that the process was being suspended due to impending litigation. Continue reading→

The City of Santa Ana encourages the public to participate in the decision-making process. The following notice is sent to ensure that our community stays informed of a matter that may be important to you.

The City Council will hold the final three (3) Public Hearings to consider modifying the Ward boundaries to comply with both the Federal and California law, including the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council majority has voted to start drawing up plans to place a measure on the November ballot to change our City Council elections to a ward-specific model.

But that’s not all. Most of the Santa Ana City Council majority is going to term out in November. But now they want to change our ward maps before they leave City Hall. The last time they did this Councilman Sal Tinajero made sure to remove Asian voters from his Ward. What shenanigans will they be up to this time? Continue reading→

On March 1, 2018, an Ad Hoc Committee of the City Council met to discuss Ward Boundaries and Ward Based Elections, otherwise known as by-district elections. The Ad Hoc Committee recommended that staff prepare the required resolutions for placing a Charter Amendment on the June 5, 2018 Statewide Primary Election for consideration by the City Council at the next regularly scheduled City Council Meeting of March 6, 2018. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council Majority – which now includes Council Members David Benavides, Jose Solorio, Vince Sarmiento and Sal Tinajero, tried once again yesterday to illegally extend their term limits by trying to place a last-minute district election measure on the June ballot.

They were previously punked by Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido when he refused to sign off on their vote to place the measure on the June ballot. A judge recently forced Pulido to finally sign those papers but the June election ballot submission deadline had already expired. Continue reading→

The Santa Ana City Council majority is moving forward with their lawsuit against Mayor Miguel Pulido as he has steadfastly refused to sign off on their illegal vote to approve a rushed district election ballot measure. Click here to read their Writ of Mandate.

Their plan was for Pulido to be served by the Santa Ana City Clerk and then go to court. The hearing has since been set for April 6. Continue reading→

Did you know that the awful Santa Ana City Council is asking you to give them a huge raise via a measure on the November Primary Election ballot? It is hard to believe that our part-time Council Members, who have done nothing while crime has soared out of control in our city, think we are so stupid that we will vote to give them an ill-deserved raise.

General Election, November, 2014:

Local Elections

Note: Even Reyna’s friends and allies admit that he is not a capable candidate for Mayor of Santa Ana. This will be Pulido’s final term and in the next two years we need to recruit better candidates than the likes of Reyna, who has only served two years on the Santa Ana City Council.Continue reading→